After being shut out in New Jersey, the Los Angeles Kings hope to right the ship in the nation’s capital as they take on the 40-10-4 Washington Capitals in the first of two meetings this season.

The Kings and Caps split their season series last year with the home team winning on both occasions. The Kings lost by a 4-0 count in Washington on Feb. 3, 2015, and if they are hoping to avenge themselves from said loss, they will definitely have their work cut out for them.

The Capitals enter Tuesday’s matchup with the league’s best record, fueled by the league’s top scorer in Alex Ovechkin with 35 goals and the winningest goaltending this season in Braden Holtby with 35 wins. But the Caps have more weapons than that as the Caps are led in points by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom with 56 and 53 points respectively.

For the Kings, this will be a sentimental matchup as they face off against two of their former mates.

Justin Williams and Mike Richards were each instrumental in the Kings’ two Stanley Cup wins so, for Kings fans, it will be a strange sight seeing both in different uniforms, especially the former. Williams has 18 goals and 38 points this season and has proven to be integral in Washington’s vast success this season.

For the Kings, they will look to bounce back after a shutout loss in New Jersey on Saturday. While they do continue to lead the Pacific, said lead is slowly diminishing thanks to the outstanding play of the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.

The Kings will hope for Jonathan Quick to be back in goal on Tuesday but no guarantees as of yet.

About Ryan Cowley

Ryan Cowley has been writing about the Los Angeles Kings since 2009, beginning as the head writer and editor of Make Way for the Kings since its inception. Until the summer of 2015, Make Way was run by the FanvsFan Network (www.makewayforthekings.com) but has since become independent at its new address: www.makewayforthekings.net
Ryan is an NHL-accredited writer who has covered such events as the Stanley Cup Final and Stadium Series. He is also a graduate of Comedy Writing & Performance from Humber College in Toronto, Ontario.